Ice cube release device



Feb. 1, 1944. J o s 2,340,693

ICE CUBE RELEASE DEVICE Original Filed Jan. 29, 1936 Patented Feb. 1,1944 ICE CUBE RELEASE DEVICE Julius Roberts, Brooklyn, N.-

eral Motors Corporation, poration of Delaware 29, 1936, Serial No.61,282

Application January assignor to Genayton, Ohio, a cor- Renewed October12, 1937 15 Claims. In my co-pending application Serial No.

701,602, I showed and described an ice cube tray with a removable gridadapted for use in freezing ice cubes in mechanical refrigerators, thedevice embodying novel means for separating elements of the grid tobreak the adhesion of the cubes to the grid and to the tray. The presentinvention relates to the same general subject matter.

The object of the present invention is to pro vide a grid for ice cubetrays, made of separable parts, adapted to be forced apart by suitablemeans, preferably a lever. The longitudinal portion of the grid consistsof two members lying in the same vertical plane to form a longitudinaldividing wall to divide the cube tray lengthwise. In the present caseinstead of the lateral fins all being attached to the upper longitudinalmemher, some are attached to the lower longitudinal member and otherfins are attached to the upper longitudinal member, and in the preferredconstruction those which are attached to the upper longitudinal memberalternate in position with those attached to the lower longitudinalmember.

With this arrangement, when the longitudinal members are forced toseparate, part of the fins move upwardly with the upper longitudinalmember while other fins remain down with the lower longitudinal member.This arrangement insures a complete separation of the cubes not onlyfrom the tray but from the sections of the separable grid to insure acomplete release of the cubes when the grid sections are forced apartFurthermore, the fins attached to the upper and lower longitudinalmembers are more accessible for cleaning and for drying than where allof the fins are attached only to the upper longitudinal member.

Another advantage in the present device is that no abutments orotherholding means need be applied to either section of the grid to createresistance to themovement of the cubes because the adhesion tothe upperand lower section of the grid by the cubes -is substantially equalized.

The grid sections, therefore, may be made without any obstructions orprotrusions. All cf the advantages and objects recited in my said 00-pending application-are attained in the present device in addition tothe advantages set forth above. Thepresent deyiceis very compact andneat and it is almost as economical-to manufacture as a plain metalgrid'because the parts may be stamped from sheet metal with blankingdies only.

In' the drawing formiugipart of this application,

longitudinal member 6,".the

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary ice cube tray in which mycube release device has been applied,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the upper and lower grid sectionsabout to be assembled for placement in the tray,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 5.

The grid device shown herein may be applied to any ordinary ice cubetray or to any special tray, the only device he so proportioned as tofit within the tray and to divide it ofi into separate compartments.

In Figure 1 I have shown a tray I consisting of a bottom, side, and endwalls, preferably integral and drawn from sheet material. There is a rimor flange 2 shown as extending around the upper edge of the tray toprotect the edge and to protect the user as well as to form means forgripping and handling the tray. This type of tray is in general use inrefrigerators.

The grid is shown as dividing the tray oil into two row of ice cubecompartments 3 although it will be understood that the grid may be madeto divide the tray off into any greater number of rows of compartmentsand with any number of individual compartments in each row. Forconvenience I have shown the grid in the drawing as dividing the trayoff into two parallel rows of compartments with six compartments in eachrow, without intending to limit my invention to any particular number ofrows of compartments or to any number of compartments in each row. Thegrid consists, in part, of .the lower longitudinal member 4 which restsin the tray in a. vertical position, and as shown in the drawing,extends down the middle of the tray with its lower edge restingonthe'top surface or the bottom of the tray.. Preferably, at each-end thislongitudinal member is'provided with anupwardly extending projection 0rhorn '5 which extends to a point adjacent the .top surface of the upperlongitudinal member to form abutmentsfor the vlever for separating thgrid sections. 1 The upper-grid section consists, in part, of the loweredge 1:05 which rests on.the top edge 8 or the lower longitudinal member4; and this upper longitudinal memberrestsin the same vertical plane asthe lower slightly above approximately on longitudinal member so thatthey both form a vertical dividing wall extending lengthwise of the Theupper longitudinal member is shown as provided with short extensions orhorns 8 rising the major portion of the top edge of the longitudinalmember and with the top edge of these horns lying flush with the topedges of the horns of the lower longitudinal member. I have shown pinsextending through the horns 9 and fastened therein, for a purpose to behereinafter described, these pins being disposed so that they will beabove the top of the cubes formed in the adjacent compartments, in orderto permit the lever tobe applied against the pins.

There are attached to or integral with the upper longitudinal member anumber or fins H which extend crosswise of the tray and there are anumber of fins l2 secured to or integral with the lower longitudinalmember to extend laterally thereof, and in the preferred form of myinvention the fins attached to the upper ion- 4 gitudinal member andthose attached to the lower longitudinal member alternate in positionwhen the grid is assembled in the tray, as shown in Figure 1.Preferably, the top edges of the upper longitudinal member and the topedges of all of the fins lie flush with or slightly above the top edgeof the tray.

It will be noted that the edges I, 8 of the upper and lower longitudinalmembers meet on a line which is slightly below the longitudinal centerof the tray as I have found that this particular location of the meetingedges is preferable in the operation of the device, although it is notcritical. 1

The several fins ll, l2 may be made integral with the upper and lowerlongitudinal members respectively, or they may be made separately andattached to them in any desirable manner. I prefer to form these partsand assemble them in the following manner:

As shown in Figures 2, 3 and ,4, the upper longitudinal member isprovided with a slot l3 for each fin H which is to be attached tothismember, the slot extending vertically downwardly from the upper edg ofthe longitudinal member to approximately the middle line thereof, asshown in Figure 3. The fins attached to this longitudinal member haveslots l4 extending vertically upwardly from the-bottom edge to a pointin line with the horizontal middle line of the upper longitudinal memberwhen the parts are in assembled position.

When the fins II are applied or slid downwardly onto the upperlongitudinal member, as shown in Figure 2, the slots l4 will permitthese fins to straddle the portion of the upper longitudinal memberbelow the bottom edge of the slot l3 and the solid portion of the finsabove the slots l4 will extend into the slots l3 of the longitudinalmember so that the top of the fins and the top of the longitudinalmember will be the same level. This leaves the lower portions of theslots l4 open to permit the lower portion of the fins II to straddle thelower longitudinal member when the sections of the grid are assembled tobe placed in the tray; that is to say, the lower longitudinal memberwill tom edge, and preferably about to the middle horizontal line of themember 4, these slots being disposed at the localities where the fins 12are to be attached.

The fins I! have slots l6 extending downwardly from the top edge, andthese slots are of such depth that when the fins I2 are moved upwardlystraddling the longitudinal member 4, the fins will come to rest withtheir lower edges fiush with the lower edge of the member 4 or in theposition shown in Figure 2. The slots l6 above the top edge 8 of themember 4 remain open for the purpose of receiving therein the upperlongitudinal member 6.

Any means may be employed to attach the fins to the longitudinalmembers, such as solderin or welding, but the simplest method isthatshown in the drawing. I have shown the edges of the metal of the upperlongitudinal member adjacent the slots 13 upset or peened, as shown atH, to engage the top edges of the fins II. This prevents separation Ofthese fins from the longitudinal member 6. The metal of the lowerlongitudinal member 4 is lilgewise upset or peened at l8 adjacent theslots 15 so that this metal projects over the edge of the lower fins l2and thus prevents these fins from separating from the member 4.

It will be noted in the description of the operation of the device thatwhen the grid members are pried apart the force does not. tend to loosenthe upset portions because the forces so act as to tend to tighten thefins on the respective longitudinal members and the upset portionsmerely serve to prevent displacement of the fins while the grid sectionsare being handled.

The operation of my device is as follows: The grid sections arepreferably assembled before the grid is placed in the tray, although ifdesired the lower grid section may be firstplaced in the tray andthenthe upper grid section may be applied over it.

In either case the upper grid section is brought down upon the lowergrid section during which operation the lower longitudinal member 4 isreceived into the open ends of the slots l4 of the fins II and the upperlongitudinal member 6 is received into the open upper ends of the slotsit of the fins l2. When the upper grid section has been completelylowered into the lower grid section the edge I will come to rest on theedge I, so that the two longitudinal members form a complete verticaldividing wall through the middle of the tray as shown in. Figure 1.

The upper edges of the fins l2 lie flush with the top edge of the upperlongitudinal member be received in the portions of the slots l4 of eachfin'which is below the lower edge of the upper longitudinal member.

The lower longitudinal member is provided with slots 15 extendingupwardly from its botand the lower ends of the fins ll lie flush withthe bottom edge of the longitudinal members 4. The horns 9 fit edgewiseagainst the slanting edges of the horns 5. The fins l2 alternate inposition along the tray in relation to the fins ll, so that on one sideof each compartment 3 the ice cubes will engage against a fin II and onits opposite side against a fin l2, except at the endmost compartmentswhere the cubes will engage at one side against the end walls of thetray as well as against one of the fins l I. As there is an odd numberof fins, I prefer to have the lesser number of fins 12 as part of thelower grid secplied with water or other liquid to be frozen, and

the water may be brought to any level within the tray, even to the topedge of the tray if desired, so that it is unnecessary to be exact infilling the tray. The tray and grid are then placed in the refrigeratorwithin the absorption coil, and left until the water has been convertedinto ice.

The tray is then removed from the refrigerator and the grid sections areseparated to release the cubes. One convenient method of separating thegrid sections is shown in Figure 1. There is shown a lever l'l of anysuitable length, and this lever is fork-shaped on its end to provide thetwo arms l8 for straddling the horns 5 and 9. The ends of these forksare. provided with turned portions or hooks IE! to engage under the endsof one of the pins In as shown in Figure 1. while the rear portion ofthe lever rests against the top edge of one of the horns 5. By pressingdownwardly on the outer, free end of the lever there will be a downwardpressure on the horn 5 which is a part of the lower grid section, andthere will be an upward pressure on the pin l which'is part of the uppergrid section, and as the lever is pressed downwardly the upper gn'dsection will be moved upwardly while the lower grid section is held downand after a slight upward movement of the upper grid section adhesion ofthe cubes to the grid and tray will be broken and all the cubes will bereleased.

The upper grid section may then be lifted out of the tray and after thatthe lower grid section may be lifted out if desired, and all of thecubes which will have been released will lie in the tray and may beremoved singly or the entire group may be dumped out of the tray. Ifdesired, after the upper grid section has been removed, the lower gridsection may be left in the tray and the cubes may be lifted singly outof their compartments. If it is desired to use at one time only aportion of the cubes, the grid sections may be placed backinto positionas shown in Figure 1 and the tray may be returned to the refrigeratoruntil such time as it is desired to use the remaining cubes. When thattime arrives the tray may be removed from the refrigerator and ifthrough further freezing the cubes adhere to the tray and grid the aboveoperations may be repeated.

If after applying the lever to one end of the grid to separate thesections, the upper grid section cannot be removed by the fingers, thelever may be applied to the in ill on the opposite end of the tray andthe upper grid section lifted by the operation of the lever. In mostinstances the application of the lever to one end of the grid issuflicient.

By having the edges l and 8 meet on a line which is below the horizontalcenter line of the grid, the upper longitudinal member 6 is made deeperthan the lower longitudinal member 8 so that the total adhesion to allparts of the upper grid section will be greater than the total adhesionof the cubes to the lower grid section to partly offset the adhesion ofthe cubes to the walls of the tray. comparatively little force isrequired to-operate the lever for separating the grid sections so thatthe operation may not only be performed by an adult but even by youngpersons.

While protrusions may be employed on either grid section to compel thecubes to move upwardly with the upper grid section or to stay down withthe lower grid section during the releasing operation, I have found thatin a device made as shown herein such protrusions are unnecessary andthis simplifies the construction 3 considerably so that all parts of thegrid except for the pins Ill may be made by simple blanking operations.The present device is very simple to manufacture and to operate and itsappearance is similar to an ordinary metal grid. It is unnecessary tomake a special type of tray for the device as the latter may be insertedin any tray providing its dimensions are made accordingly.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A grid for ice cube trays, composed of upper and lower relativelymovable sections, each section having a longitudinal member andlaterally extending fins for dividing the interior of the tray into cubecompartments, said sections being so constructed that when assembled ina tray thefins of both upper and lower grid sections will lie in thesame horizontal plane.

2. A grid for ice cube trays, composed of upper and lower, relativelymovable sections, each section having a longitudinal member andlaterally extending fins for dividing the interior of the tray into cubecompartments, said sections being so constructed that when assembled ina tray the fins of both upper and lower grid sections will lie in thesame horizontal plane and the fins of the upper and lower sections willalternate in position lengthwise of the tray.

3. A grid for ice cube trays comprising relatively movable upper andlower sections, said sections each having a longitudinal dividingmember, said dividing members adapted to lie in a common vertical planewithin the tray, lateral fins carried by the longitudinal member of saidupper section and being of such depth as to project over thelongitudinal member of the lower grid section, and lateral fins on thelower longitudinal member, and being of such height as to project overthe longitudinal member of the upper grid section, the sections of thegrid cooperating to divide the tray into a plurality of cubecompartments.

4. A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower grid section having alongitudinal member adapted to form a longitudinal dividing member in atray, an upper section including a longitudinal member adapted to lie inthe same vertical plane with said lower longitudinal member, laterallyextending fins carried by the longitudinal member of said upper sectionand extending below the bottom of said upper longitudinal member andhaving slots extending upwardly from the bottom thereof to receive thelongitudinal member of said bottom section therein, lateral fins on saidlower longitudinal member extending above the top of said lowerlongitudinal member and having slots extending downwardly from the topedge thereof to receive the upper longitudinal member therein, said gridsections being relatively movable to permit the cubes to be releasedtherefrom.

5. A grid for ice cube trays, including a lower grid section having amember adapted to form a longitudinal dividing member in a tray, anupper section including a longitudinal member adapted to lie in the samevertical plane with said lower longitudinal member, laterally extendingfins carried by said longitudinal member of the upper grid section andextending below the bottom of .said longitudinal member and having slotsextending upwardly from the bottom thereof to receive the longitudinalmember of said bottom grid section therein, lateral fins on said lowerlongitudinal member extending above the top of said lower longitudinalmember and having slots extending downwardly from the top edge thereof"said longitudinal members constitute a single vertical wall, laterallyextending flns on the longitudinal member of the upper grid section andextending below the bottom of said longitudinal member, and laterallyextending fins on said lower longitudinal member extending above saidlatter longitudinal member, said fins cooperating to divide the trayinto individual cube compartments.

7. A grid for ice cube trays, including relatively movable upper andlower sections, said lower section including a longitudinal memberadapted to lie in a vertical position lengthwise of a tray, and havingupward extensions or horns at each end thereof, and an upper gridsection having a longitudinal member adapted to lie in the same verticalplane with the longitudinal member of the lower grid section and adaptedto lie between the upwardly extending horns of said lower longitudinalmember, said grid having laterally extending fins on each section fordividing the interior of the tray into individual cube compartments.

8. A grid for ice cube trays comprising a lower grid section, includinga longitudinal member adapted to lie in a vertical plane when the gridis inserted in a cube tray, an upper grid section having a longitudinalmember co-operating with said lower longitudinal member. said upperlongitudinal member having slots extending downwardly from its top edge,and laterally extending fins each having a slot extending upwardly fromits bottom edge, said fins being assembled on the longitudinal member insuch manner that the solid portion of the fin immediately above its slotis received in the downwardly extending slot of the longitudinal member,and the solid portion of the longitudinal member below the slot of saidmember is received into the slot of the fin.

9. A grid for ice cube trays, including upper and lower grid sections,each section having a longitudinal member, the longitudinal members ofboth sections lying in the same vertical plane, the longitudinalmemberof said lower grid section having slots extending upwardly from thebottom edge thereof, fins having slots extending downwardly from theirupper edges, said fins being so assembled on saidlower longitudinalmember that the solid portion of the fins in line with the slots of saidfins are received in said slots of the lower longitudinal member, andthe solid portion of said lower longitudinal member in line with theslots of said longitudinal member are received in the slots of saidfins.

10. A grid for ice cube trays comprising a lower grid section includinga longitudinal member adapted to lie in a vertical plane when the gridis inserted in a cube tray, an upper grid section having a longitudinalmember co-operating with said lower longitudinal member, said upperlongitudinal member having slots extending downwardly from its top edgeand laterally extending fins each having a slot extending upwardly fromits bottom edge, said fins being assembled on the longitudinal member insuch manner that the solid portion of the fin immediately above its slotis received in the downwardly extending slot of the longitudinal memberand the outer portion of the longitudinal member below the slot of saidmember is received in the slot of the fin, the lower portion of the slotof each of said fins adapted to receive the lower longitudinal membertherein to permit the upper and lower longitudinal members to lie edgeto edge.

' 11. A grid for ice cube trays including upper and lower grid sections,each section having a longitudinal member, the longitudinal members ofboth sections lying in the same vertical plane,

the longitudinal member of'said lower grid section having slotsextending upwardly from the bottom edge thereof, fins having slotsextending downwardly from their upper edges, said fins being soassembled on said lower longitudinal member that the solid portion ofthe fins in line with the slots of said fins are received in said slotsof the lower longitudinal member,

' and the solid portion of said lower longitudinal cooperating with thelongitudinal wall to divide the ice tray into a plurality of ice cubecompartments, said fins being arranged to have movement one relative toanother, said longitudinal wall being composed of a plurality ofrelatively movable sections disposed in substantially the same verticalplane and more than one of which partitions the ice tray, said gridbeing so constructed that relative movement of the longitudinal sectionswill cause said 7 relative movement of the spaced fins.

13. The combination of an ice tray embodying side and bottom walls and agrid removably disposed therein and arranged to cooperate therewith forforming ice cubes, said grid embodying a plurality of relatively movablelongitudinally extending sections disposed substantially in the samevertical plane, and a series of spaced, single wall substantially rigidtransverse fins extending across thewidth of the ice tray, saidlongitudinal sections having slots adapted to receive fins therein, saidgrid being open at its bottom so that the ice cubes contact the bottomwall of the ice tray, said fins being arranged to have movement onerelative to another and said gridbeing so constructed and arranged thatrelative movement of the longitudinal sections will cause said relativemovement of the spaced fins. 14. A gridadapted to be removably disposedin an ice tray comprising, a longitudinal partition composed ofrelatively movable upright portions disposed adjacent one another and aplurality of rigid members extending transversely and continuouslythrough the plane thereof, each portion of said longitudinal partitionhaving a plurality of spaced apart slots therein receiving said memberswhereby said members cooperate with one another and with said partitionto provide a plurality ofwalls of ice block forming compartments, meansengaging each of said portions 01' said longitudinal partition andoperable independent of contact with the tray for applying force betweensaid partition portions to move one portion relative to the otherportion thereof, and said relative movement of said partition portionsbreaking a bond between ice blocks and certain of the compartment 'wallsand causing a relative sliding movement between the ice blocks andcertain other of the compartment walls.

15. In combination with an ice tray, a grid including a lower sectionforming a longitudinal 10 ing force between said sections to move themovable section of the grid relative to the other section'thereof and tocause relative movement between the transverse partitions.

JULIUS ROBERTS.

